Railway box cars



April 18, 1961 w. A. BEAUCHAMP RAILWAY BOX CARS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 12, 1958 N W 4% m. i n n a M w o w w E c o 0 w E N E v G W D q E E w an M A 2 .I\ A J H Q s w .N 3 IJ N N HTT'Y'I- April 18, 1961 w. A. BEAUCHAMP 2,979,786

RAILWAY BOX CARS Filed Aug. 13, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN 70/?"- W/LF/aw BEGUCHGMP April 18, 1961 w. A. BEAUCHAMP 2,979,786

RAILWAY BOX CARS Filed Aug. 13, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 1 IN VEN To/a-L MLF/EED H BsaucHemP United States Patent ce RAILWAY BOX CARS Wilfred A. Beauchamp, Chicago, 111., assignor to The Youngstown Steel Door Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Au 13, 1958, Ser. No. 754,823

7 Claims. CI. 20-22 This invention relates to railway box cars and more particularly to movable posts associated therewith.

It is an object of this invention to provide movable posts for railway box cars capable of resisting the pressure of lading in the cars and preventing the application of such pressure upon the outside sliding doors of said cars. I

A further object is to provide movable posts of the character set forth above which shall be sturdy yet simple in construction, have frictional engagement with said cars above and below the door opening in which said posts are positioned and be releasably locked in eflective position in the door openings.

A further object is to provide movable posts for rail way box cars capable of resisting the pressure of lading in the cars and which shall be readily movable upon antifriction means to inoperative position adjacent to the door posts of the cars and be releasably locked in such inoperative position.

A further object is to provide movable posts for railway box cars which shall be movable upon anti-friction means supported by overhead tracks secured to and reinforcing the side plates of the cars.

A further object is to provide movable posts for railway box cars which shall be movable upon anti-friction means supported by overhead tracks secured to and reinforcing the side plates of the cars and which shall be automatically and releasably locked in operative position by means carried by the lower portion of said posts.

A further object is to provide movable posts for railway box cars which shall be movable upon anti-friction means supported by overhead tracks secured to and reinforcing the side plates of the cars and which shall be automatically and releasably locked in operative position by means carried by the lower portion of said posts in such manner as to tie together the side plates and side sills of the cars.

Other objects of the invention will become clear as the description thereof proceeds.

In the drawings forming part of this specification:

Fig. l is an elevation of a portion of a box car embodying the instant invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of a box car showing the location of the movable post of the instant invention in effective position and in stored position adjacent to a door post.

Fig. 3 is a partial elevation on an enlarged scale of the movable post and adjacent portions of the side plate and side sill of the car, a part of the post being broken away.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on line 44 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated the reference numeral 19 designates a portion of a side wall of a railway box car including a door opening 11 formed in the side wall. The dor opening is defined by means of a side plate 12, a side sill 13 and front and rear door posts 14 and 15. The door opening 11 is adapted to be closed by an outside sliding door 16 of any desired construction which is sup- Patented Apr. 18, 1951 ported for movement longitudinally of the car by means of a track 17 carried in any desired manner by the car.

The side plate 12 embodies inner upwardly extending flange 18, an outwardly extending web 19 and an outer depending flange 20.. The upwardly extending leg 21 of an angle member 22 is secured in any desired manner to the upwardly extending flange 18 of the side plate. The horizontal leg 23 of this angle member extends outwardly. An angle member 24 is provided, the upstanding leg 25 of whichissecured as by means of rivets 26 to the inner face of the depending flange 20 of the side sill. The angle member 24 has an inwardly extending leg 27 disposed in alignment with the outwardly extending leg 23 of the angle member 22 and spaced therefrom to provide a slot 28. The angle members 22 and 24 accordingly furnish substantial reinforcement for the side plate and as hereinafter described serve additionally as a track.

The side sill i3 is in the form of an angle disposed with one leg 29.extending upwardly and the other leg 30 extending inwardly. Within the door opening 11 the upwardly extending leg 29 terminates substantially in the upper plane. of the car floor 31 as shown more clearly in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The side sill 13 is reinforced by means of a member 32.

An angular threshold plate 33 is secured to the floor 31 of the car in the door opening in any desired manner. The threshold plate 33 embodies a flange 34 supported upon the floor 31 and a depending flange 35 disposed in outwardly spaced relationship to the upstanding leg 29 of the side sill.

A movable door post 36 is provided in the door opening 11 in order to resist the outward pressure of grain and other commodities shipped in the freight car. As shown more particularly in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings the movable post 36 is in the form of a metallic inwardly opening channel having a web 37 and flanges 38 and 39. A hanger 40 which is channel-shaped in horizontal section and provided with a top wall 41 is secured to the upper portion of the post 36 as by means of rivets 42 and 43. A neck portion 44 extends upwardly from the top wall 41 and through the slot 28 provided by the angle members 22 and 24. Spaced longitudinally extending flanges 45 and 46 rise upwardly from the neck portion 44 and serve to retain spaced rollers 47 and 48 rotatably carried upon pins 49 and 5t carried by the flanges 45 and 46. Normally the post 36 and hanger 40 are frictionally supported from the angle members 22 and 24, the weight of the post and the hanger being transferred to the rollers only when the post is being moved between effective and stored positions.

A bracket member 51, preferably in the form of a casting, is secured to the lower portion of the post 36 by means of rivets 52 which extend through an upstanding flange 53 on the bracket member and the web of the post. Additional securement of the bracket member is obtained by means of a rivet 54 which extends through a flange 55 on the bracket member and flange 38 of the post and by means of a rivet 56 which extends through a flange 57 on the bracket member and the flange 39 of the post. The bracket member 51 is formed with a guide opening 58 which receives a verticallyslidable locking bolt 59. Loss of the locking bolt 59 from the bracket member 51 is prevented by means of a projection 60 formed on the inner face of the belt which moves vertically Within a groove 61 formed in the bracket member and a plate member 62 which extends across the top of the groove 61. A stem 63 depends from the bracket member 5-1 below the lower edge of the post 36. The stem 63 carries oppositely extending flanges 64 and 65 so that the stem and flanges form in effect an inverted T-shaped portion of the bracket member.

At the eflective and stored positions of the post 36 the upstanding leg 29 of the side sill is coped as indicated at 66 to provide a substantially rectangular opening which extends to the top of the leg 29. The threshold plate 33 is also coped at these locations as indicated at 67, the width of the latter cope being substantially the same as the width of the cope in the side sill leg 29. A keeper bracket 68 is secured upon the side sill 13 in any desired manner within the cope provided in the upstanding leg thereof. The keeper bracket 68 is provided with oppositely extending flanges 69 and 70 to which the portions of the leg 29 and the threshold plate 33 adjacent to the cope are secured as desired.

An opening 71 is formed in the top of the keeper bracket 68 and is adapted to receive the lower end of the locking bolt 59 to releasably secure the post 36 in locked position. The keeper bracket 68 projects outwardly beyond the leg 29 of the side sill and into the space between the latter and the depending flange 35 of the threshold plate as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. This projecting portion of the keeper bracket is'undercut as shown at 72 and 73 thereby providing space within which the oppositely extending flanges 64 and 65 'provided on the bracket 51 are received. In this relationship the flanges 64 and 65 lie beneath the undercut portions 72 and 73 of the keeper bracket. This relationship between the bracket 51 and the keeper bracket 68 in conjunction with the suspension of the post and post hanger from the angle members 22 and 24 serves to bind together the side plate and side sill within the door opening and prevent spreading thereof under impact to the car.

The post 36 may be provided with a wooden filler 74 to which grain boards or other dunnage may be secured in order to prevent movement of the lading within the car outwardly and against the outside door 60.'

To move the post 36 from its efiective position shown in full lines in Fig. l to its stored position shown in dot and dash lines in this figure, the locking bolt 59 is raised and the lower end of the post is swung transversely and outwardly through the cope provided in the threshold plate 33. This outward swinging movement of the lower end of the post effects disengagement of the flanges 64 and 65 provided on the bracket 51 from the undercut portions 72 and 73 of the keeper bracket 68. The post 36 is then moved toward the right as'viewed in Fig. 1. In this movement the hanger 40 is tilted so that the frictional engagement between the hanger and the flanges 23 and 27 of the angle members 22 and 24 is broken and the weight of the post is transferred to the roller 47. The post is then readily moved to its position adjacent to the door post 15.

The lower end of the post is then released so that it swings transversely and inwardly. During this movement frictional engagement between the hanger 4t} and the flanges 23 and 27 is restored. The inclined nose 75 of the locking bolt 59 engages and rides upwardly upon the inclined face 76 of the keeper bracket 68. The locking bolt 59 is thus raised so that when it is aligned with where especially wide door openings are formed in the the opening 71 in the keeper bracket 68 it will fall by gravity into the opening and automatically lock the post in stored position.

During this inward movement of the lower portion of the post 36 the neck 63 of the bracket 51 and the 0ppositely extending flanges 64 and 65 will pass through the cope in the threshold plate 33 so that the flanges 64 and 65 will lie under the undercut portions 72 and 73 of the keeper bracket 63. At this time the post 36 is locked in stored position and the side plate and side sill are tied together. Movement of the post 36 from the stored to the effective position and the automatic locking thereof in eiiective position is similar to the above described movement and locking of the post from its eflective to its stored position.

It will be observed particularly from Fig. 4 of the drawings that the keeper casting 68 is provided with an inclined wall 77 beneath the bolt-receiving opening71.

sides of the car.

It will be apparent that numerous changes and modifications in the details of the invention will be clear to those skilled in the art. it is intended, therefore, that all such changes and modifications be comprehended within this invention which is to be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

1 claim:

1. In a railway box car having a door opening, a longitudinally slidable door for closing the door opening, a side plate and a side sill extending across the door opening, a track secured to said side plate in the door opening, a member secured to said side sill and having opposed, longitudinally spaced undercut portions, and a post extending across the door opening in proximity to the inner face of said door when the door is closed to protect said door from the pressure of lading in the car, said post "having a hanger, said hanger having spaced rollers supporting said post for anti-frictional longitudinal movement upon said track independently of said door, the lower part of said post including a member and releasable locking means, said latter member having a stem depending therefrom and flanges extending oppositely from said stem, said stem lying between said undercut portions and said flanges lying beneath said undercut portions when said members are in cooperative engagement, said locking means having locking engagement with said first member,

said post being swingable transversely and outwardly of.

said car about said hanger independently of said door to disengage said members, whereby said post can be moved along said track upon said rollers.

2. In a railway box car having a door opening, a longitudinally slidable door for closing the door opening, a side plate and a side sill extending across the door opening, a track secured to said side plate in the door opening, a member secured to said side sill and having opposed, longitudinally spaced undercut portions, and a post extending across the door opening in proximity to the inner face of said door when the door is closed to protect said door from the pressure of lading in the car, said post having a hanger, a portion of said hanger engaging said track to frictionally support said post from said track, said hanger having spaced rollers supporting said post for anti-frictional longitudinal movement upon said track independently of said door, the lowerpart of said post including a member and releasable locking means, said latter member having a stem depending therefrom and longitudinal flanges extending oppositely from said stem, said stem lying between said undercut portions and said flanges lying beneath said undercut portions when said members are in cooperative engagement, said rollers being disengaged from said track when said frictional portion of said hanger engages said track, said locking means having locking engagement with said first member, said post being swingable transversely and outwardly of said car about said hanger independently of said door to disengage said members, whereby said post can be moved along said track upon said rollers.

3. In a railway box car having a door opening, a side plate and a side sill extending across the door opening, a track secured to said side plate in the door opening, said side sill having an upstanding leg which is coped, a member extending across said cope and secured to said up standing leg on opposite sides of said cope, said member having opposed, spaced undercut portions, a threshold plate having a horizontal flange extending outwardly beyond said upstanding leg and an outer depending flange spaced outwardly from said upstanding leg, said horizontal flange and said depending flange being coped at said member, said opposed, spaced undercut portions lying between said upstanding leg and said depending flange and being accessible through the cope in said depending flange, and a post, said post having a hanger, said hanger having spaced rollers supporting said post for anti-frictional movement upon said track, the lower part of said post including a member and releasable locking means, said latter member having a stem depending therefrom and flanges extending oppositely from said stem, said stern passing through said latter cope and lying between said undercut portions and said flanges lying beneath said undercut portions when said members are in cooperative engagement, said locking means having locking engagement with said first member.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein said first member has an opening therein and said locking means is receivable in said opening to lock said post.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 4 wherein said first member has an outwardly and downwardly inclined wall below said opening for discharging dirt, cinders and the like falling through said opening outwardly of said car.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said post has an inwardly opening channel-shaped conformation and said hanger and second member are secured to said post within said conformation.

7. In a railway box car having a door opening, a longitudinally slidable door for closing the door opening, a side plate and a side sill extending across the door opening, a track secured to said side plate in the door opening, a member secured to said side sill and having longitudinally spaced abutments, and a post extending across the door opening in proximity to the inner face of said door when the door is closed to protect said door from the pressure of lading in the car, said post having a hanger, said hanger having spaced rollers supporting said post for anti-frictional movement along said track, the lower part of said post including a member and releasable locking means, said latter member having a stem depending therefrom, said stem lying between said abutments and said locking means having engagement with said first member to secure said post thereto, said post being swingable transversely and outwardly about said hanger upon release of said locking means, said stem passing outwardly between said abutments during the swinging movement of said posts.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 891,897 Astrom June 30, 1908 1,085,285 Monesmith Jan. 27, 1914 1,687,997 Tobin et al. Oct. 16, 1928 1,908,165 Moler May 9, 1933 

